402 



APPENDIX O 



Now another example, using same rate $2 

 merchandise, $1.50 general special rate, and 

 box weighed twenty-eight pounds. Allowing 

 for ice twenty-five per cent leaves the box net 

 weight of twenty-one pounds and at one and 

 one-half cents per pound makes thirty-two 

 cents; but the minimum charges are thirty- 

 five cents, then the express agent should charge 

 you thirty-five cents for your box. 



Again, if you are in a place which has but 

 one express company and that company does 

 not have an office in the point to which you 

 are shipping, the charge would not be less 

 than fifty cents, twenty-five cents for each 

 company. For example, you live in a town 

 by the name of X and have but one express 

 company doing business and that is the Cana- 

 dian, and you bring in a box of squabs for 

 New York. The expressman says the rate to 

 New York is $2 and that the box will cost you 

 $1. Then you might say, " Well, I under- 

 stood that the express companies gave a special 

 rate on squabs. Let us look it up." Have 

 him turn to Official Express Classification and 

 look over about- page 17 and you will run 

 across a heading General Specials, then rea.ding 

 that heading you will find the paragraph as 

 quoted at the beginning of this article. After 

 reading this carefully, run- on through the list 

 of articles under this head and in the S's _ypu 

 will find squabs, just as stated in Mr. Rice's 

 article. You will also find a small letter (b) 

 just before the name squab. This is a note and 

 must be looked up. This reference tells that 

 for a box containing squabs and ice, an allow- 

 ance of twenty-five per cent must be made. 

 Now going back to your box that weighed 

 forty pounds, allowing twenty-five per cent for 

 ice, leaves a net weight of thirty pounds. You 

 will also find in the heading of General Specials, 

 rate as per Scale N. Turn to page 29 and you 

 will find a section marked Scale N, and going 

 down the rate column per 100 pounds to $2, 

 regular merchandise rate,, it will be found that 

 the General Special rate is $1.60 per 100 pounds. 

 Now that means one and one-half cents per 



Eound and thirty pounds x IJ^ cents is forty- 

 ve cents. But as the Canadian Express Com- 

 pany has ho office in New York and must 

 transfer it to another company in order to get 

 the box to destination, each company says it 

 must have not less than twenty-five cents 

 each; hence the agent must charge you fifty 

 cents and you have saved fifty cents, and the 

 agent is posted for the next fellow. Of, if the 

 place is located so that it must go over three 

 express companies' roads to be delivered to 

 destination, then the charges would be seventy- 

 five cents, twenty-five cents for each cqmpany, 

 but if it went through three companies' hands 

 when it was only- necessary to go through two, 

 then the rate should only be fifty cents. 



Again, a great many places have a special 

 rate that is cheaper than the General Special. 

 For instance, the regular rate from this point 

 in Michigan to New York is $2.25, and that 

 would make the General Special rate as per 

 Scale N $1.75 and the special rate from here 

 is $1.50, so we can ship from here to New 



York or to Boston just as cheap as to Fhiladef- 

 phia where tfae rate is $2 regular merchandise, 

 which would make the General Special $1.50. , 



Another example, I go to the express 

 office with a box of sixty pounds for Chicago. 

 The rate from here to Chicago is ninety cents 

 and per Scale N the General Special rate is 

 seventy-five cents per hundred. Now allowing 

 twenty-five per cent for ice, the net weight of 

 the box is forty-five pounds. Now as 100 

 pounds would cost seventy-five, cents, one 

 pound would cost three-quarters of a cent, 

 and forty-five pounds would- be 45x|, or 

 thirty-four cents, but as the minimum charge 

 is thirty-five cents, I should pay thirty-five 

 cents, the correct charge if the shipping office 

 and destination are common points or if express 

 company at shipping point has an office at des- 

 tmation. If not, then each company would de- 

 mand twenty-five cents and the correct charges 

 ■ should be fifty cents. 



Again, in aU express offices you will find, 

 or should find, notices like this: 



" The rate schedules applying to or from 

 or at this station and indices of this company's 

 tariff are on file in this office and may be 

 inspected by any person upon application and 

 without the assignment of any reason for such 

 desire. The agent- or other employee on duty 

 in the office will lend any assistance desu-ed in 

 securing information from or interpreting such 

 schedules." 



I would suggest that any shipper of squabs 

 go to the express office beforehand and look 

 this matter up and get it clear about the 

 rate before taking the box of squabs. Do 

 not bother the agent when he is busy getting 

 ready for a train or just after a train when he 

 is checking his express; but just ask for the 

 Tariff Book and start in at the beginning and 

 find the section headed Official Classification 

 and in the index find General Specials and then 

 turn to page and article as per the index and 

 go to reading and afta: reading the heading 

 of General Specials, either run through the 

 articles under General Specials until you find 

 Squabs (dressed) or turn back to the index 

 and look up squabs and read that and also 

 the note indicated by the letter " b " before 

 the name Squab. Now you are ready to talk 

 to the agent when he is at liberty and you 

 can ask him to explain the meaning of the 

 sections you have read ; then say to him, ' ' What 

 would it cost me to send a forty-pound box to 

 New York," or whatever your shipping point 

 is. If you think the rate he quotes you too 

 much, kindly ask him to take- up the matter 

 with his Route Agent or with his Superinten- 

 dent, and let you know what he finds out. 

 Do not go to him for a few days, say a week, 

 and then drop in some day and say, " Well, 

 what did you find out about the rate on 

 squabs?" or "Have you heard anything aboutthe 

 rate on squabs?" and see what he hastodffer. 



EXPRESS RATES ON KILLED SQUABS. 



A lot of letters have come from squab shippers 

 who read the article on express rates and have 

 found out that they have been paying tco 



